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Presentation is everything. In the past when podcasting first hit the scene and Youtube was still growing you could get away with amateur production quality. But the competition level has changed tremendously and now you need to compete with full television crews and recording studios.
You guys may not know this, but signal processing is one of my main skills, perhaps equal to SEO and Web Development. I've been doing it longer than I've done SEO. I spent time in engineering labs, on the job, and in recording studios doing this specific act of cleaning up audio and other electrical signals for decades now.
So I'm here to help you enhance your game with the new Studio section of BuSo.
The Problem
You've likely noticed that your audio quality just simply isn't up to par with other podcasters and Youtubers. People think the answer is to buy better gear. That can be an issue if you're using complete trash but the reality is that you lack what they don't, and that is Post-Processing.
Post-Processing refers to what happens after the audio or video is recorded. While you edit the video or audio together and then press upload, others are engaging in Signal Processing. And THAT is the core difference.
People spend their whole lives mastering this, and entire books can and have been written on the topic. We don't have time for that. What you need is the 20% of the work that gives you 80% of the benefits and will boost your audio quality high enough that nobody will think twice or not if you're a professional.
The Solution
If people struggle to hear what you say due to volume fluctuations or the quality of your recording, you're losing money. Let's solve that.
Let me explain the signal processing options to you here:
Your video recording software and cruddy free audio recording software likely aren't going to cut it unless you're using professional software like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, etc. You need access to either hardware or software plugins, and the free crap like iMovie doesn't have it. Garageband does.
However you plan to do it, it's all the same in the end. And the methods are the same. Those methods are, in this order:
Equalization
Equalization is the act of taking your raw audio signal and boosting or cutting the volume in specific frequency ranges.
Some common problems you encounter are:
What you need is either a hardware or software plugin version of a Parametric Equalizer. This gives you several "bands" (options to target specific portions of the frequency spectrum) that you can control individually to boost or cut the volumes in those areas smoothly.
Let me whip open Logic Pro X and show you:
This is a parametric equalizer. The different color numbers on the bottom are the bands. This is an 8-band EQ with a low-shelf and high-shelf at the extreme ends. I set it up for what I would suspect a podcaster or video creator in a crappy room would need.
It will change for every recording you do, though it'll stay kind of the same once you figure out what you need too. If you set it up to cover most recordings and save a template with it, you can use the same settings every time and save yourself tons of time and effort in boosting your quality.
So what's going on here?
If you don't do these things and have 2 or 3 layers of audio going at once (like mics for each speaker) all of the bad noises accumulate into a muddy mess. The difference this makes alone is monumental.
In the next post I'll be talking about compression, what it does, and why you need it. It's the other 50% of your 80% quality boost.
You guys may not know this, but signal processing is one of my main skills, perhaps equal to SEO and Web Development. I've been doing it longer than I've done SEO. I spent time in engineering labs, on the job, and in recording studios doing this specific act of cleaning up audio and other electrical signals for decades now.
So I'm here to help you enhance your game with the new Studio section of BuSo.
The Problem
You've likely noticed that your audio quality just simply isn't up to par with other podcasters and Youtubers. People think the answer is to buy better gear. That can be an issue if you're using complete trash but the reality is that you lack what they don't, and that is Post-Processing.
Post-Processing refers to what happens after the audio or video is recorded. While you edit the video or audio together and then press upload, others are engaging in Signal Processing. And THAT is the core difference.
People spend their whole lives mastering this, and entire books can and have been written on the topic. We don't have time for that. What you need is the 20% of the work that gives you 80% of the benefits and will boost your audio quality high enough that nobody will think twice or not if you're a professional.
The Solution
If people struggle to hear what you say due to volume fluctuations or the quality of your recording, you're losing money. Let's solve that.
Let me explain the signal processing options to you here:
- Do it live as you record with software
- Do it live as you record with hardware (my preferred method)
- Do it afterwards with software
- Do it afterwards with hardware
Your video recording software and cruddy free audio recording software likely aren't going to cut it unless you're using professional software like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, etc. You need access to either hardware or software plugins, and the free crap like iMovie doesn't have it. Garageband does.
However you plan to do it, it's all the same in the end. And the methods are the same. Those methods are, in this order:
Equalization
Equalization is the act of taking your raw audio signal and boosting or cutting the volume in specific frequency ranges.
Some common problems you encounter are:
- Booms and static in the lowest frequencies
- Hiss in the highest frequencies
- Muddy sounds in the low-mids due to the acoustics of your room
- Bad definition in your vocals due to the acoustics of your room, microphone, preamplifier, etc.
What you need is either a hardware or software plugin version of a Parametric Equalizer. This gives you several "bands" (options to target specific portions of the frequency spectrum) that you can control individually to boost or cut the volumes in those areas smoothly.
Let me whip open Logic Pro X and show you:
It will change for every recording you do, though it'll stay kind of the same once you figure out what you need too. If you set it up to cover most recordings and save a template with it, you can use the same settings every time and save yourself tons of time and effort in boosting your quality.
So what's going on here?
- The low roll-off at around 50 Hz drops off by 48 dB per octave in the sub-bass region. This blocks out tons of noise from your air conditioner, mic boom, your foot steps, noises from your desk, cars outside, plosives from when you blow bursts of air at the mic while saying "p" and "b" syllables, etc. This in itself makes a huge difference.
- Around 250 Hz I have a 5 dB cut because this is where bass waves bounce around a room and add more and more bass to your recordings. Without this, you'll sound like you're recording in a wooden box (because you are, that's what a room is).
- Around 2 kHz I boosted about 2 dB. You can try more or less. This is where the fundamental frequencies for the male voice reside. For females it's often a bit higher. Boosting this can add clarity.
- Around 5 kHZ is where "presence" resides in the human voice. It adds a sense of hardness and firmness to recordings that help the ear latch onto what's being said clearly.
- Around 17 kHz I added a high roll-off. Piercing hiss and sibiliance from when you blow bursts of air at the mic while saying "t" and "s" syllables all reside up here for the most part. Adults don't ofter hear frequencies this high but young people do and it can absolutely ruin a recording.
If you don't do these things and have 2 or 3 layers of audio going at once (like mics for each speaker) all of the bad noises accumulate into a muddy mess. The difference this makes alone is monumental.
In the next post I'll be talking about compression, what it does, and why you need it. It's the other 50% of your 80% quality boost.
